Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, at a press conference on the coronavirus situation (COVID-2019), in Geneva, Switzerland.
Denis Balibouse | Reuters
New, more contagious mutant variants of the coronavirus are “highly problematic” and can cause more cases and hospitalizations if the spread of the virus is not stopped immediately, the head of the World Health Organization said on Monday.
The global health agency was alerted over the weekend about a new Covid-19 strain discovered in Japan, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a news conference. On Sunday, Japan’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases said it had discovered a new variant of the coronavirus in four travelers arriving from Brazil.
The variant appears to have some of the same mutations as other strains discovered in the UK and South Africa, the institute said. These virus mutations, while highly infectious, do not appear to make people more sick with the virus, health experts said.
Japan’s infectious disease institute said it is difficult to determine immediately how infectious the new strain is and the effectiveness of vaccines against it.
As viruses spread, they are expected to mutate over time, as peaks on their surfaces change, says the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. However, the CDC warns that it is not yet known how widespread the new mutations are.
“The more the virus spreads, the greater the chance of further changes in the virus,” said Tedros at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, noting that the new variants appear to be more contagious than previous strains.
“This can lead to a sudden increase in cases and hospitalizations, which is highly problematic for health professionals and hospitals that are already close to the breaking point. This is especially true when social and public health measures have already been stopped,” said Tedros.
This is a developing story. Please check back later for updates.